Russell, P. Craig and Gaiman, Neil. Coraline. Colored by Lovern Kindzierski, lettered by Todd KleinNew York: HarperCollins, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-06-082543-0.
Author / Illustrator Website: http://www.artofpcraigrussell.com/ (Russell)
Author Website: http://www.neilgaiman.com/ (Gaiman).
Awards: School Library Journal Best Book. ALA Booklist Editors’ Choice.
Media: Ink and watercolor.
Use of Onomatopoeia: (P. 12) “KREEE. . . . . . .EEAAAK.”
Use of Simile: (p. 23) “The mist hung like blindness around the house.” (p. 71) “a tiny doubt inside her, like a maggot in an apple core,”
Use of Repetition, Rhythm and Rhyme : (p. 14) “We are small, but we are many, we are many, we are small. We were here, before you rose, we will be here, when you fall.”
Special Notations: 2009 Students’ List, Graphic Novel (Fiction)
Annotation: Coraline is bored after moving to a new home and her parents never seem to have time for her. Everything changes when Coraline discovers a mysterious door and a creepy parallel world in the empty flat next door.
Personal Reaction: “Because when you’re scared but you still do it anyway, that’s brave,” (p.67) Coralline tells herself as she pushes herself to search for her missing parents. Coraline’s parents never seemed to have time to play and they were fond of rules and dinners made from recipes. Coraline longs for adventure and she certainly gets it when she discovers an empty flat (apartment) next to her own family’s flat. Coraline meets her “other mother and father,” creepy versions of her real parents who have black buttons for eyes. These other parents have all the time in the world for Coraline if only Coraline will let them sew black buttons on her eyes. Graphic novel adapter Craig uses one of these same buttons to “dot” the “i” in the title Coraline on the cover. The other parents also steal away Coraline’s real parents. Coraline meets a host of unusual characters in her new home and these same characters’ not quite right mirror images in the strange and frightening mirror world on the other side of the door. In the end, Coraline comes to realize that she is strong enough to overcome her fears and she learns to appreciate the boundaries set by her parents. This graphic novel adaptation stands on it own based on the strength of Craig’s drawings and character development. Craig judiciously uses bright colors to highlight toys, books, videos and a theater marquee in the book while the majority of the illustrations feature a gloomy, ominous color palette. On page 173, Coraline pulls out her old dolls and tells her mother that “they’re protective coloration,” as she plots to defeat her “other mother.” I am a Gaiman fan and missed some of the details in the original Coraline, but Craig succeeds in conveying the frightening mood of Gaiman’s original and maximizes certain aspects of the story, such as Coraline’s curiosity and penchant for following her dreams, which are often nightmarish.
